So much to say, and thankfully this mission doesn't have a set limit for email time, so thank the heavens that I am here in the New Orleans library and able to relay the Louisiana experience to Y'all. If I thought the MTC was a fire-hose, then the field is an unrelenting celestial super soaker that has a plethora of modifications to propel high-pressure water at astronomical speeds. To say the least, I am very wet, and I don't think I'll be dry anytime soon. :) And after that epic introduction of gargantuan proportions... SO NOW BEGINS THE CHALMETTE CHRONICLES.
We'll start with the basics. There were no problems with our flight as we traversed the atmosphere for eight hours on Tuesday and landed in Baton Rouge at around 8:00. We were greeted by some of the jolliest people I had seen in three weeks: President and Sister Varner and the two strapping assistants to the president, Elder Hoopes and Elder Wilson. FUN FACT: Elder Hoopes literally has walked into Grandma and Grandpa Boyd's house. Crazy. He saw my Star Valley tie clip and we had a bit of a bro moment as he told me he lives in [ ] Wyoming and knows my grandparents. So that was crazy.
We were then greeted at the mission home with some HEAVENLY STEAK MY GOODNESS and we were all pretty exhausted- but President Varner interviewed me and told me I'd be serving in the Chalmette, Louisiana area and my companion would be Elder Orison (a recent Zone Leader who has been on his mission for 16 months.) The next day was pretty hectic as we all drove down to the Stake Center right next to the temple (GORGEOUS) and met our trainers. It was there that I met the man, the myth, the legend, ELDER GORDON. That's right ladies and gentleman, he remembers me... somewhat... Haha. It was pleasant to see a familiar face, and then I told him I was going to Chalmette.. and he said.. "oh boy.. you be going to the GHETTO" and I said,"Oh it shouldn't be that bad... ghetto people need the gospel too.." Oh how I have eaten my words. Stay tuned for more about this "ghetto" paradise.
ANYWAYS, I met Elder Orison, he told me he loves to laugh, I told him I like to belt out primary songs in the shower, it was a good time... BUT THEN.. as we made our way out to the car... I knew our companionship was a match made in heaven.. because Elder Orison... HAD A UKULELE. BLESS UP. THIS CHURCH IS TRUE. Apparently, you can't bring your own, but you can have them in the mission? Basically, I've abducted his instrument and sing him lullabies every night.
As we drove down to Chalmette I discovered that I'd be serving in the East New Orleans area (where our apartment is) AND the surrounding area of Chalmette. On our way down I was pleasantly greeted by such a sketchy battleground of an area- this place is legit. We're serving in the more impoverished neighborhoods of the New Orleans area, and let me tell you, it's nothing like Princess and the Frog. I have yet to tract into a Caucasian home. It's definitely not Kansas anymore.
But first, as my parents call them, normal people details. I'm in a quadship (meaning, there are four people in my apartment) with the Spanish Elders of the area. The area consists of the sets of Spanish missionaries, one Elders, and one Sisters, and then us... the English Elders. I'm serving alongside Elder Orison, who is actually heaven sent. He is a scripture wizard from [ ], we have the same sense of humor, he loves music and nerdy things, he's a spiritual giant and has some of the biggest calves you'll ever see. I can feel the chemistry in our companionship as we've gotten closer, and I absolutely believe in the divinity of this calling. We room with Elder Stoddard and Elder Hernandez, both missionary veterans.
My sheets and bed and pillow are SO much more comfortable than the MTC, where I slept with a mattress pad as a blanket, sorry mom.
We went shopping and Elder Orison even drinks ALMOND MILK? COINCIDENCE?? I THINK NOT. He also has a temple calendar and the temple of this month is the Vancouver Temple... COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT. But yeah, we're in a driving area, and I now assume the junior role of backing out our car wherever we go. It's great.
We listen to conference talks in the car ( he has a flash drive with like.. 200 of the greatest talks known to the LDS people.. it's epic) and we love to sing ridiculous songs in our falsettos. We have some incredible spiritual discussions and I constantly look forward to our studies individually and together.
We eat pretty well in our apartment as he has introduced me to yellow rice and cajun seasoning. I have yet to have the jambalaya or gumbo experience. Disappointing, I know, but Chalmette isn't exactly "fine dining."
The weather here is pretty nice BUT YESTERDAY WAS SO COLD FOR LOUISIANA it was like 50 degrees.. like c'mon. However, FACT: The sunsets here are miraculous (see attached pictures) and on other days besides the anomaly of yesterday, it's relatively warm.
Okay, time to be real. For those of you who don't know, I've struggled with "big city" anxiety for most of my life. I have never wanted to stay in an area where there was a high concentration and population of people. I always associated it with daunting crime rates and danger, and so I've lived a pretty anxious life in regards to that aspect. That being said, I can tell that the Lord is trying to help me get over that fear because although the Chalmette/East NOLA area isn't terribly huge, it definitely has all the associations that I've ever worried about. It's so sketchy down here. The houses are very low income. We hear a lot about crime in the area, there's a lot of "interesting people" and needless to say, I've been pretty anxious lately. I keep asking Elder Orison questions about adjusting, and he's like.. for some reason, the Lord gave you one of the hardest areas to start.
Get this: We "doubled in" to our first area. Meaning neither of us have served here before. We're in one of the hardest areas of the mission. It's a branch down here and we meet in a Lutheran pre-school (see attached pictures) for goodness sakes. Most of the people have already been "saved" and decline our invitations or approaches. It's basically the Sodom and Gomorrah of the South. And it's my first area. Now if you don't think the Lord is trying to tell me something, I tell you what, I'm sent here for a reason.
Night time around here scares me, but as I become more acquainted with the sacred nature of our calling and realized the prayers and guidance and companionship of the Holy Ghost as we traverse this ghetto paradise, I feel a little peace. I'm hoping that as I'm out here more, I'll become more adjusted, the days won't seem so long, and I'll be able to acclimate to the life of a missionary quickly and effectively.
That being said, all I want to do is work. That's what I considered to be the antidote to my anxiety. When I say we lose ourselves in the work, Orison and I, we go hard in the paint. We tract on average about three and a half hours a day. We do our best to be EXACTLY obedient, and we are just putting all our trust in the Lord, cause there'd be no way we could do this without him.
Let me tell you the fruits of our labors.. we have had this week... nine new investigators. We talk to everybody, even when we don't know what they're saying. We have seen tender mercy after tender mercy, and I can tell that the Lord is watching over us. The people here LOVE the missionaries because all we're doing is testifying of Jesus Christ and, "everybody needs Jesus." We're teaching a guy named C., who we tracted into, and when we came by for our appointment, his entire family wanted to listen in. We also tracted into an old man named A., whose wife is Catholic and he served in the Vietnam war. After our appointment with him, we went outside and his grandchildren were there..6th and 7th and 10th graders.. and they were like. ." missionaries, you guys play street ball?" Long story short, we dunked on those kids, and shard a little message about the gospel. They were surprised that "Jesus people" could beat them. The Lord blesses us in mysterious ways.
The Branch down here is adorable. It's like.. 14 people.. We're having Thanksgiving with the Branch President and OH BOY is Louisiana getting baffled by my dairy allergy. The Ward Mission Leader has us over every Thursday, and when we told him about my allergy he was so puzzled. He's hilarious.. he says... "you can't have dairy... YOU CANT HAVE RICE?" His name is Brother H., and he believes that everything has dairy in it. Including rice. He also does this thing where he, "speaks in tongues" and says, "ayde dee daa daa dooty dah" and we'd say, "what does that mean?" and then he'd say something like.. "you're welcome." He's a wild man with a great heart. And the wife of the Branch President, Sister F., is doing everything she can to make it a good Thanksgiving for this rice eater.
It's been a pretty crazy week, to say the least. I've gone through a lot of emotions. We're getting smartphones in January (then I can read my emails every day) and I'm really leaning on the Lord and my scriptures, my companion, and the prayers and letters and pictures of all of you. Please pray that Elder Boyd will be able to overcome his anxiety and adjust to life quickly.
I'm just throwing myself into the work and doing everything I can to be the best representative of the Lord that I can be. I pray for all of you each and every night. My new address is:
10500 Hayne Boulevard, Apt. 205
New Orleans Louisiana, 70127
I'd really appreciate any packages or letters or anything. I'm certainly not forgetting about home, but I'm definitely forgetting myself and going to work. Your prayers are felt. I hope you feel my love for all of you down here in Louisiana, cause it's astronomical.
PDay is Monday as you can probably tell, so you'll receive another email then.
Once again, you're all so incredibly appreciated and loved by me and our Father in Heaven. Remember to always read your scriptures and repent. No one has ever failed who keeps trying and keeps praying. I'm certainly not giving up, and neither should any of you. This work is hard but nothing is impossible with Jesus Christ. Wear your covenants with honor, and never forget that Elder Boyd loves you.
Talk to you all next week as we approach WEEK TWO of the Chalmette Chronicles. Love you all.
With an exponentially righteous amount of love and appreciation,
Elder Boyd
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